The key words are the same as many other market analysis: China and Covid–19. Things aren’t different for the livestock industry, as it has once certainty (China’s importance) and one unknown (the effects of the pandemic). But in 2021 something new will happen: the weakening of the swine flu in Asia (ASFV), which will make pork the main attraction on the marketplace. That’s according to the Rabosearch lab of Rabobank, which discusses the matter in its Global Animal Protein Outlook 2021.
Meat industry’s 2021
It appears that, in 2021, meat production will increase all over the world. Among the aspect to keep an eye on is the trend for pork products in Asia, because production will recovery, with consequent flattening of the growth-line for bovine meat. The global trend for bovine products will still be positive, but inferior to that of poultry and still subject to variations within the timeline.
North America, for example, will be at the center of this positive growth, while red meat in Europe will likely slow down. The report doesn’t cite any specific percentages or numbers, but does indirectly say that the increment in the number of units processed in Brazil will be more modest than in the previous years.
New Zealand, meanwhile, will balance the slight decrease of ovine products by a small increment of bovine ones, and Australia will continue its strategy to rebuild its total number of units.
The weight of the pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic continues its damages, as the industry’s operators, according to Rabobank, will still be suffering the losses incurred in 2020, when they were forced to slow down production significantly and faced even harder cuts on certain channels, such as the Ho.Re.Ca one.
Next year there should be a recovery, but costs will likely increase: structural investments, for example, will contribute to the increment, along with more challenging regulations imposed by governments.
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